BASTARD
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
A bastard (synonym: hybrid, crossbreed, or mongrel) is offspring resulting from parents of different races or species. In the 1930s, the term was used for interspecies crosses, while 'metis' referred to crosses within the same species, though this distinction is no longer maintained.
Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)
BASTARD (syn.: hybrid, crossbreed, or mongrel), offspring obtained from a father and mother of different races or species. E.g., offspring of different breeds of chickens or rabbits, black and white, or offspring of a donkey and a horse. Older authors invested one meaning in the concept of B., or hybrid, and another in the concept of metis, or mongrel. B., or hybrids, were called the offspring from crossing individuals of different species; metises, or mongrels, were called the offspring from crossing individuals of different races of the same species. At present, such a distinction is not made, since the content of the concept of species or race also has a conditional character. Bastards obtained as a result of interspecific crossing are often sterile (see also Sterility). Bastardization - the reproduction of animals by crossing individuals of different races or species.
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“BASTARD.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/bastard/